Overall Rating Silver
Overall Score 45.57
Liaison Maia Roseval
Submission Date Jan. 12, 2023

STARS v2.2

State University of New York at Farmingdale
OP-8: Sustainable Dining

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 1.02 / 2.00 Maia Roseval
Sustainability Manager
Facilities and Operations
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Part 1. Sustainable dining initiatives

Local community engagement

Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor host a farmers market, community supported agriculture (CSA) or fishery program, or urban agriculture project, or support such a program in the local community?:
No

A brief description of the farmers market, CSA or urban agriculture project:
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Sustainability-themed outlet

Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor host a sustainability-themed food outlet on-site, either independently or in partnership with a contractor or retailer?:
No

A brief description of the sustainability-themed food outlet:
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Inclusive and local sourcing

Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor support disadvantaged businesses, social enterprises, and/or local small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) through its food and beverage purchasing?:
Yes

A brief description of the support for disadvantaged businesses, social enterprises, and/or local SMEs:
Some (not all) of the foods purchased by our on campus food vendor, Aramark, is purchased from local sources. For example, our apples come from the Hudson Valley.

Estimated percentage of total food and beverage expenditures on products from disadvantaged businesses, social enterprises, and/or local SMEs:
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Low-impact dining

Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor host low impact dining events or promote plant-forward options?:
No

A brief description of the low impact dining events and/or plant-forward options:
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Vegan dining program 

Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor have a vegan dining program that makes diverse, complete-protein vegan options available to every member of the campus community at every meal?:
Yes

A brief description of the vegan dining program:
There are Vegan dishes on the menu and options at the buffet.

Labelling and signage 

Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor inform customers about low impact food choices and sustainability practices through labelling and signage in dining halls?:
No

A brief description of the sustainability labelling and signage in dining halls:
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Part 2. Food waste minimization and recovery

Food recovery program

Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor participate in a competition or commitment program and/or use a food waste prevention system to track and improve its food management practices?:
No

A brief description of the food recovery competition or commitment program or food waste prevention system:
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Trayless dining and portion modifications 

Has the institution or its primary dining services contractor implemented trayless dining (in which trays are removed from or not available in dining halls) and/or modified menus/portions to reduce post-consumer food waste?:
Yes

A brief description of the trayless dining or modified menu/portion program:
Trays are no longer in use in the all-you-care-to-eat dining location, Pop’s. By eliminating trays, dining can avoid having to wash trays, thus saving gallons of cleaning solution and hundreds of gallons of water per year.

Food donation 

Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor donate food that would otherwise go to waste to feed people?:
Yes

A brief description of the food donation program:
Leftover food that is not spoiled is donated to the local community by Aramark. There are also efforts to team up with the on-campus food pantry so non perishable items can be donated as well.

Food materials diversion 

Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor divert food materials from the landfill, incinerator or sewer for animal feed or industrial uses?:
Yes

A brief description of the food materials diversion program:
Aramark has created a comprehensive food waste management program to reduce waste from all points in the food production and service timeline. All aspects of sourcing, storing, producing and serving the food in dining locations are rigorously planned and developed to minimize food waste. Comprehensive production records are created for every menu item so that only the food needed for service is produced. Aramark also employs a systematic approach to identifying and recording all food waste generated in our kitchens. By recording not only the type of food, but also the reason for such waste (trimmings from food preparation as compared to overproduction), management can identify any patterns and create a plan to correct poor production habits. As a result of the implementation of this program at Farmingdale at the beginning of the fall 2017 semester, our team was able to eliminate nearly a ton of food waste, as well as conserve 88 gallons of gasoline (that not needed to transport saved food) and .75 tons worth of CO2 (saved from the environment) during the full academic year.

Composting 

Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor have a pre-consumer composting program?:
No

A brief description of the pre-consumer composting program:
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Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor have a post-consumer composting program?:
No

A brief description of the post-consumer composting program:
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Dine-in service ware 

Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor utilize reusable service ware for “dine in” meals?:
Yes

A brief description of the reusable service ware program:
They use regular washable dishes for on campus dinning with the exception of take outs.

Take-away materials 

Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor provide reusable and/or third party certified compostable containers and service ware for “to-go” meals (in conjunction with an on-site composting program)?:
Yes

A brief description of the compostable containers and service ware:
Almost all of the take out containers are compostable, however there is no on-site composting program.

Does the institution or its primary dining services contractor offer discounts or other incentives to customers who use reusable containers instead of disposable or compostable containers in “to-go” food service operations?:
No

A brief description of the reusable container discount or incentives program:
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Optional Fields

A brief description of other sustainability-related initiatives not covered above:
Elimination of Single Use Plastic
Aramark has a corporate goal to significantly reduce single-use plastic by 2022. This initiative began with a focus on plastic straws and stirrers and Farmingdale Dining has begun to introduce an elimination policy which will be in full force by spring 2019 with straws available by request.

Fryer Oil Recycling
One hundred percent of used fryer oil is recycled. Spent fryer oil is collected by a third party recycling company with the goal to repurpose every drop into biodiesel. Farmingdale Dining uses 240 gallons of fryer oil every month, all of which is recycled.

Reduced Printing
Dining has reduced or eliminated many of the printed materials used in the past in an effort to save paper. Several documents have been pushed to the dining website and social media feeds, reducing the amount of paper utilized.

Recycled Content Paper
Aramark uses 100% recycled content office and copy paper in all locations on campus.

Energy & Water Conservation
Aramark trains employees each semester on common energy and water conservation practices in order to conserve precious natural resources.

Website URL where information about the sustainable dining programs is available:
https://www.farmingdale.edu/auxiliary-service-corporation/sustainability-initiatives.shtml

Additional documentation to support the submission:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
Data Sources:
Aramark
Office for Sustainability

The information presented here is self-reported. While AASHE staff review portions of all STARS reports and institutions are welcome to seek additional forms of review, the data in STARS reports are not verified by AASHE. If you believe any of this information is erroneous or inconsistent with credit criteria, please review the process for inquiring about the information reported by an institution or simply email your inquiry to stars@aashe.org.